


Trial by Fire

by Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness



Series: Trials verse [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha!Sam, Baker!Gabriel, Because she's anti-trans, Crowley creeping, Dick Roman creeping, Gabriel being petty, Hopefully I picked the right Doug on the list, Legal drug use, M/M, Mpreg-but not too vivid, OC pups - Freeform, Obtaining sexual favors in return for legal counsel, Omega abuse--not graphic, Omega!Gabriel, Or a Toni, Pregnant!Gabriel, Probably pregnancy sex, Shade thrown at JKR, Toni Bevell creeping, don't be a Dick, illegal drug use, law student!sam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:26:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26670628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness/pseuds/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness
Summary: Sam begins working at his dream law firm...but it quickly becomes his nightmare.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Series: Trials verse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1408288
Comments: 38
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miranda99956](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miranda99956/gifts).



> Beta'ed by the amazing WarlockWriter! Any mistakes are on me, however. 
> 
> This is the third installment in a series; you can probably read this without reading the first two, but it will make more sense if you do. 
> 
> I make zero promises or even hints as to what the update schedule will be, because 2020. And because I'm worried that 2021 is not going to be a whole lot better. I'm starting to post today because it's Mir's birthday and I have nothing else to give because writing has not gone well lately :).

Sam closed the door of their new apartment--they’d had to move into a larger one--quietly behind him, in case Gabriel was asleep. 

He needn’t have worried. “In here!” the Omega called from their bedroom. 

Sam tossed the mail onto the kitchen table for them to worry about later, grabbed some silverware, and headed further into their apartment. Gabriel’s texts had just said he was leaving Sprinkles! early, so Sam didn’t know exactly what was wrong. It became clear when he saw his mate lying with his feet up, an ice pack draped over them. 

Sam looked him over, unable to hide his concern. Gabriel was seven months pregnant, and while everything seemed to be going well despite occasional days like this, Sam still worried about him. 

Gabriel spotted the food he was carrying and immediately made grabby hands. “Feed me, Sam-mour!” he declared. 

Sam let out a mostly-fake sigh. His mate could be so needy, sometimes. And nerdy. “What have I said about quoting horror movies in bed?” he asked, but set Gabriel’s meal in his lap and handed him utensils. 

“Please yes more?” Gabriel pretended to hazard a guess, before scooping up a forkful of refried beans. The food, thankfully, shut him up for a moment or two. 

Sam left his own dinner on the nightstand, and sat down at the foot of the bed. “Your feet again?” he asked, even though he could see for himself how swollen they were. He gently separated one from the ice pack, and began massaging it. 

“Yes. It’s so fucking gross,” Gabriel complained. “They’re like three times normal size. Wait. Why did you go all the way down to Tina’s? You never go that far unless...oh god, it’s not our anniversary or something, is it?”

Sam had to chuckle. “No, Gabriel. You’re fine. But I do have some good news.” 

“It better be better than ‘you’re pregnant.’ ‘Cause right now, I’m not sure that was good news.”

“No, Gabe. Sprinkles is finally in the black!” Sam beamed at his mate. 

Gabriel perked up. “Really? I mean, I knew we were getting close, but...really?”

“Really-really,” Sam said as he continued to give his mate a foot massage. “I’m so proud of you.” 

Gabriel made a scathing noise before taking a bite of rice. “Like I even need to do anything there anymore. It practically runs itself!” 

Sam pulled his mate’s foot to his face and gave it a soft kiss. “That’s not true, and you know it, Gabriel. Don’t make Garth get out Mr. Fizzles.” He set one foot down and picked up the other; he saw nothing gross about his mate’s swollen feet. In fact, they were kind of cute, but he’d never, ever tell Gabriel that. “How are the pups?”

“Hungry, like me,” Gabriel replied, continuing to talk around mouthfuls. Then he relented, likely knowing how much Sam worried, and added, “Good. They’re fine, Sam.” 

Sam still couldn’t quite believe they were going to be fathers soon. It scared him shitless, but Gabriel had assured him time after time that he’d make a good father even though he hadn’t had one growing up. John had been there, but that was about all that could be said about Sam’s father. 

As true mates, the pair had gotten pregnant laughably easy, possibly even before Gabriel’s first heat off of birth control. And, because Omegas were exceptionally fertile, Gabriel was pregnant with twins--a boy and a girl. They were still arguing over names; Gabriel’s last suggestion of ‘Ernest and Elsa’ had almost broken Sam beyond repair (even if it _was_ better than Sam and Samantha). Meanwhile, Sam had no problem sticking to Gabriel’s only rule, which was ‘no angel names.’ 

“I’m glad.” Sam kissed his mate’s other foot, and set it down. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I do. But before you get too demonstrative, Alpha, Dad’s coming over in a bit.” Gabriel smiled ruefully. “It’s not fair, that I’m the youngest but I got pregnant first.” 

“But you’re not the first to have kids, at least,” Sam pointed out. Madison and Raphael had adopted a brother and a sister pair a few months back. Neither Lucifer nor Michael had kids, and Sam personally thought that that was probably for the best.

“Yeah, but _Raffie_ didn’t have to sit through all of Dad’s pregnancy stories while waiting to adopt his,” Gabriel pointed out. 

Sam relocated himself to the head of the bed, reaching out and squeezing Gabriel’s hand before grabbing his own food. “I’m sorry, Gabe.” 

“It’s okay. As long as you keep bringing me food and giving me foot massages, I suppose I’ll survive.” 

“I’ll try,” Sam told him. He had just picked up his burrito when the apartment door buzzed. “That’s probably your dad; I’ll go let him in.” 

“Thanks,” Gabriel told him, still happily shoveling food into his mouth. 

Sure enough, when Sam looked through the hole in the door, Gabriel’s father was outside, carrying a couple of bags. “Hey, Chuck,” he said as he opened the door. 

“Hi, Sam.” Chuck gave him a hug; Sam had been fairly nervous about how tactile the Omega was when he’d first met him, but since it didn’t seem to bother Naomi, his Alpha, it no longer bothered Sam. In fact, it was kind of nice. “How’s Gabey? Would you mind putting these in the nursery?” he added, handing over his bags (Sam suspected that their pups would have more clothes and toys before they were born than Sam and Dean had had in their entire lives). 

“Sure! He’s mostly fed, and I gave him a foot massage,” Sam said, pointing toward the bedroom. “Can I get you anything?”

“Coffee, if you have it,” Chuck told him. “Cream and sugar.” 

“Coming right up,” Sam replied. He dropped the bags in the nursery first, then started brewing a pot of coffee--he still had a brief to write tonight for one of his classes, so he planned to partake too. As he put a new filter in the machine, he heard the two Omegas start chatting and smiled. Gabriel was definitely a daddy’s boy, however much he might complain about pregnancy stories. Sam wondered, briefly, if he’d have had the same sort of relationship with his mother if she were still alive; the youngest siblings often did. 

Sam knew he and Gabriel would clash over parenting occasionally; Gabriel would likely let the pups do whatever they wanted and have whatever they wanted. Sam felt it was important to set boundaries, even when the pups were little. He hoped there wouldn’t be too many arguments; he’d spoken with Gabriel a few times about it, but felt that Gabriel had agreed too easily to have actually heard what he said. 

Oh well. Like all new parents, they would deal with whatever came. Sam let the coffee percolate while he got out mugs, plus cream and sugar for Chuck. He looked a little sadly at a third mug; Gabriel liked coffee with so much sugar in it that the spoon could stand by itself. Unfortunately, Gabriel couldn’t have caffeine while he was pregnant, and he told Sam how unfair that was at least once or twice every day. 

He poured the coffee for them, and then, after a moment’s hesitation, filled the third mug with milk. Sam hoped it would help Gabriel avoid the acid reflux he’d been suffering from lately. 

Sam walked back to the bedroom, carrying the three mugs. Gabriel’s eyes lit up when he saw the third mug, but Chuck just chuckled when he saw what was in them and handed the milk down to his son, who was still laying down. The Omega said something that made Chuck idly reply, “Language,” before sipping from his own mug of caffeinated goodness. “Thanks, Sam, this is great,” he said. 

Sam, meanwhile, was taking in the remnants of their meal and realizing… “Gabriel? Did you eat my burrito?”

Gabriel immediately switched from petulant to guilty. “Uhhhhh...some of it?” He looked back at the styrofoam container that had previously been full of beans, rice, and the burrito. “Uhhh...maybe all of it?”

“Sorry,” Chuck said. “I assumed it was his, too.”

Sam chuckled, and shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll eat the sides, and fix myself something else later.” 

Gabriel’s look turned even guiltier. “Uhhhhh...I may have eaten your beans and rice, too. Sorry, Sam.”

Chuck laughed. “I’d apologize for my son, but you _did_ know him before you mated him.” 

“It’s all right,” Sam assured his mate and his mate’s father. “Like I said, I’ll fix myself something else later. Are you two good? I have a brief to write tonight. Chuck, there’s more coffee in the kitchen if you want it.” 

“We’re fine,” Gabriel replied, smiling now that he’d gotten away with eating both of their meals. “I can walk if I have to, I just don’t _want_ to.” 

Sam looked at Chuck, who nodded in confirmation. “All right, I’ll be right across the hall,” he called back as he turned and left. He walked the short distance down the hall to the office door, opened it, turned on the lights, and made his way to his desk. He set the coffee down and booted up his laptop, hearing Chuck and Gabriel start laughing over something from the bedroom.

Sam loved his mate, strange eating habits and all. He just hoped that Gabriel wouldn’t be put on full bed rest before giving birth--Gabriel hated nothing more than to be confined, even to a bed. Sam didn’t think it would come to that, but he also knew next to nothing about pregnancy. Not for the first time, he wondered why on earth they didn’t teach that sort of thing in schools. What was the point of being able to quote Hamlet’s entire soliloquy if he couldn’t make decisions about his own mate’s health? 

As soon as the computer was on, Sam checked his e-mail. Once he’d answered the important ones, he started working on the brief, wondering why on Earth it was called that when it had to be at least twenty pages long. 

.oOOo.

Sam lost track of time until he heard someone come into the office. He startled when he realized it was Chuck, not Gabriel. The older Omega was bearing food and more coffee--he’d apparently taken over the kitchen and made Sam a sandwich and a salad. 

“Chuck!” Sam gasped. “You didn’t have to do that!” 

Chuck gave him a slightly pointed look. “Do you know what time it is, Sam?”

Sam turned his head to look at the computer’s clock. 1:39 AM stared back at him. “No,” he groaned, although quietly, realizing that Gabriel must have already gone to bed. “I didn’t realize it was that late, I’m sorry. Do you need a ride home?”

“No, I’ll use a service.” Chuck set the plate and the mug of coffee down next to Sam. “Sam...I’m not trying to criticize you or anything, but you do realize you’re burning the candle at both ends these days, right?”

Sam sighed. “I do,” he admitted. “It’s mostly just law school. But I also take care of most of Gabriel’s accounts because he doesn’t like doing them, and I’m going to start working at the firm that’s paying my way through law school so I can also pay down that debt, and…”

“And you’ve got a mate who’s pregnant _and_ running his own business,” Chuck finished for him. “I know, Sam. And you will never know how much I love you because you made sure his dream came true. I just...worry about you, sometimes. Naomi wasn’t really there for Michael and Lucifer, and that’s partly my fault, but… I mean, I know you’ll be there for Gabey and the pups as much as you can, but...I don’t want you to hurt yourself doing it all. You ARE allowed to eat your meals. Or hire help, if you need it. I know Gabey hates it when we give you two money, but we have plenty.” 

“Thanks, Chuck,” Sam replied, unable to help himself from sipping at the coffee Chuck had brought. He’d still be up at least another hour working on the brief. “I promise, I will be there for my pups, even if I have to give up on law school.”

Chuck shook his head, and leaned against Gabriel’s desk (which was considerably messier than Sam’s). “I’m not asking you to do that, Sam, and neither is Gabey. But...just remember, as long as you pass the bar exam, that’s all that really matters.” 

“I know.” Sam sighed once again. “I really do. But it’s hard not to try to do my best on everything...especially when these professors will be writing recommendation letters for me.” 

“Sure. But remember, your health is important too. You can’t take care of Gabey and the pups if you burn out,” Chuck softened his point with a smile. “Naomi sometimes tells me she wishes she could go back in time and do better. I don’t want you to have the same kind of regrets.” 

“I’ll do my best,” Sam promised his father-in-law. He was still getting used to the idea of someone who actually cared about him and Gabe; someone who would, for example, come over, take care of Gabriel, and then make Sam a sandwich. John would have laughed in his face for even suggesting that a father do such a thing. 

“That’s all I can ask,” Chuck replied, pushing himself back off of the desk. “Just please don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it.” He paused, as Sam took a bite of his sandwich. “Sorry if I’m poking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I know you don’t talk to your father. If you ever want someone to talk to who’s been through parenting and came out alive, I’m happy to stand in for him. I remember how scared Naomi and I felt before Michael and Lucifer arrived.”

Sam looked up at his father-in-law and offered him a weak smile. “I’m terrified,” he admitted. “I don’t--I mostly just don’t want to be like my dad was.” 

“You won’t,” Chuck assured him. “You’ll do better, because you’re determined. Though we all mess up our kids a little, in our own unique ways. I think it’s a fact of life. So is being terrified of becoming a parent.” He patted Sam on the shoulder. “I would be much more worried if you _weren’t_ worried.”

“Good point. Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” Sam asked. He was still wary after the entire Becky debacle. 

“I’m sure. My ride’s already outside,” Chuck assured him. 

“All right. Be safe,” Sam said, standing and giving Chuck a quick hug before releasing him. He watched the Omega leave the apartment, and then went back to working on his brief.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam learns about his new workplace. Gabriel gets jealous again. Or still.

Sam eventually e-mailed his brief to his professor and then slept for a few hours. Gabriel was gone when he woke up, which was normal as he liked to get to Sprinkles! early. Sam showered, dressed in business clothes, picked up his satchel, and walked the mile or so downtown to the offices of Dick’s Law Firm, which owned the top two floors of the high-rise building. He was looking forward to his first day at the firm where he’d be working for the next five years. Plus, the holiday decorations he saw lifted his spirits--it was almost Christmas. 

It was a good thing he was in a decent mood, because the morning turned into a ‘hurry up and wait’ situation, where he variously filled out paperwork, obtained an official Dick’s intern ID badge, and studied in between random, small tasks, since no one had thought to assign him any real work for the day. 

Sam ordered takeout with the rest of the interns for lunch, and he got his first good look at the most senior partner at the firm, Dick Roman, while they were eating. 

Mr. Roman--Sam recognized him from the firm’s website--breezed into the room. “Hello, Winners!” 

“Hello, Dick,” the other interns chorused, but Dick had already turned away from the majority of them to focus on Sam. 

“Hello, Sam! Welcome to the firm!” Sam stood up, and traded painful grips with Dick. “We’re very happy to have you, because you are definitely a Winner.” He turned back to the other interns and pointed at Sam. “Not even out of law school yet, already has a job at an excellent law firm, _and_ he’s got his Omega pregnant with twins!”

Sam blinked, shocked that Mr. Roman even _knew_ that information, let alone had disclosed it to his co-workers. While it was not illegal for him to do so, it was in poor taste--especially since they were supposed to be a firm that advocated for Omega rights. 

“I look forward to working with you, Sam,” Dick patted Sam’s shoulder. “Just make sure you keep Winning.” He finger-gun-shot Sam, gave a little wave to the other interns, and then walked out, leaving Sam speechless. 

Conversation soon started back up again, but a young Alpha named Max began ignoring Sam as much as he possibly could--Sam could only assume Max had been something of a favorite of Dick’s before Sam had arrived. Oh well. There were stupid politics at every job. 

The strange meeting with Dick was, however, better than his encounter with Toni Bevell, who flat out eye-fucked him while they spoke, despite the fact that both were Alphas and Sam had bites on literally all of his scent glands--which were visible on his wrists, if nowhere else. At least her welcome seemed _slightly_ more sincere than Dick’s. 

Sam soon realized that there were no Omegas working at the firm (at least, not today). According to his sensitive nose, a few of the interns and all of the lawyers were Alphas, and the rest were Betas. The scents of Omegas were all older, and thus likely to be clients. 

Sam was pondering the implications of this discovery when he finally left work and walked back to his apartment. As a result, he was well and truly surprised when he discovered that Gabriel had not only made him a celebratory meal, complete with his special cinnamon rolls for dessert, but had also decorated for the upcoming holidays. “Gabriel!” Sam hugged him when he hurried over to greet him under the mistletoe, “I thought you were going to try to stay off your feet.” He gave Gabriel a quick kiss, knowing that they’d be able to share a more thorough one later.

“Psh.” Gabriel waved a dismissive hand. “Not on my mate’s first day at his new firm!” The Omega leaned his head into Sam’s chest for a moment or two, and then let go of him. “I made all your favorites.” 

“I see that,” Sam replied as he surveyed the table. “You really didn’t have to.” 

“You stood by me when I opened Sprinkles!,” Gabriel explained, pulling out Sam’s chair. It had reindeer antlers attached to it with brown pipe cleaners, so that they would more or less be level with Sam’s head when he sat. “And I’m going to be here for you through your journey to Senior Partner. C’mon, sit!” 

“Let me just wash my hands,” Sam said, leaning over to peck Gabriel on the cheek. “I’ll be right back, I promise.” He went and set his things down in the office, then washed his hands in the bathroom. 

By the time he got back to the dining table, Gabriel had already loaded both their plates with his marinated chicken salad. Sam had been used to dry chunks of chicken on his salads before he met Gabriel. Somehow, Gabriel managed to keep the chicken moist and delicious. Sam carefully avoided asking exactly how many extra calories Gabriel’s process added to the salad; he already knew to use Gabriel’s homemade salad dressing sparingly. 

“So how was your first day?” his mate asked as soon as he’d reappeared. Gabriel never stood on ceremony, so he had a mouthful of chicken and lettuce already. 

“It was good,” Sam replied automatically. He sat down, gathered up his own fork, and then hesitated. “Actually...it was a little odd.”

“Odd?” Gabriel prompted. 

“Well…” Sam ate a mouthful of salad in an attempt to get his thoughts straight before speaking. “It really wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. The firm does help Omegas, but I get the feeling that almost everyone there is in it for the money, not because they actually care. There wasn’t a single Omega there today; it was all Alphas and Betas.” 

“Maybe that’s why they want you,” Gabriel suggested, pointing his fork at Sam. “They’ve been talking the talk, and now they want to hire someone who also walks the walk?”

Sam shrugged. “Maybe. I get the feeling that it was more about my grades and less about my cover letter, though.” 

Gabriel eyed him from across the table. “This is bothering you, isn’t it?”

“It--yeah, maybe,” Sam admitted. “A little. Hopefully I’m wrong. But it’s definitely not what I expected.”

“And now you have to work there for five years. Is there any way to, I don’t know, pay them back or something and work somewhere else? We could borrow money from my parents if we need to.” Sam felt a pang of guilt when he heard Gabriel make the suggestion he knew the Omega was vehemently opposed to.

“No, they’d sue for breach of contract, and then no one in town would hire me,” Sam explained to his mate. “There’s really no getting out of it.”

“What if you did a terrible job?” Gabriel suggested. “Made them fire you?”

“Breach of contract, again,” Sam replied with a shrug. “Look…I’ve only been there one day. Maybe I just got a bad first impression.” 

“Your instincts are better than that, Sam,” Gabriel said, a note of concern in his voice. “If you say it doesn’t feel right, there’s probably a reason for that. What happened today, anyway?”

“Mostly I just met people, and learned more about the firm’s cases. Dick Roman takes on any high-profile case that will get him a lot of attention, including some Omega rights cases. Toni Bevell defends Omegas accused of murdering their mates, generally using a premise of previous domestic violence. Anthony Crowley does divorce negotiations for rich Omegas, usually netting them a lot of money in the process. So, they are helping Omegas...just not in the way I’d imagined.” 

“I can’t believe he goes by Dick. Who the hell goes by Dick these days?” Gabriel asked, rolling his eyes and stabbing a piece of lettuce with his fork that had been drowned in his homemade salad dressing. 

“He prefers it,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I think he thinks it gives him a man-of-the-people vibe.” 

Gabriel snorted. “Arrogant much?” 

Sam shrugged again. “All the lawyers at the firm are, but honestly, as often as they win cases...they’ve kind of earned it.” 

“You won’t be arrogant when you’ve won cases. They choose to be like that.” 

“Maybe,” Sam agreed. “But they _are_ good at what they do. Anyway...some of the interns seemed nice.” He took a deep breath, not wanting to talk about his next point, but knowing he’d promised Gabriel he would. “Um...I don’t think you’ll get along well with Toni Bevell.” 

Gabriel looked confused. “Why not? That’s the one that you said defends Omegas accused of murder, right? Are they all guilty or something?”

“No, but...she made me uncomfortable today. She was eyeing me...well, like Becky used to.” 

Sam’s mate immediately bristled. “Do I need to fight her? ‘Cause I’ll fight her, Alpha or not. You know I will.” 

Sam did his best not to laugh at the mental picture of Gabriel cold-cocking Toni. “I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “If she actually says anything to me, I’ll go straight to HR. And since her making me uncomfortable enough to leave wouldn’t involve _me_ breaching the contract, they’ll actually do something about it.” 

“Good,” Gabriel half-snarled, before letting out an explosive breath. “Though I can’t really blame her. You _do_ look super hot in a suit.” He paused as if considering something, and then nodded decisively. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I promised I would,” Sam replied. The promise had been made back in the aftermath of Becky, and Sam had always respected it--if he got hit on or even flirted with when Gabriel wasn’t there, he told his mate as soon as he had a chance. Sam wasn’t sure it was entirely fair, as Gabriel probably got hit on all the time at Sprinkles! and didn’t have to report it to Sam, but it made his mate feel better. Or so Gabriel claimed, at least. Sam was pretty sure he’d just get annoyed hearing about any Alphas that fawned over Gabriel--but maybe that was an Alpha thing. 

“So...are you going to be okay there?” Gabriel asked after a moment or two. “If it’s not what you thought it was?”

“I’ll make do,” Sam replied, nodding. “Worst comes to worst, it’s only five years and then I can do anything I want.” 

“That’s a long time to do something you don’t like, though,” Gabriel pointed out. “Or to work with people you don’t like.” 

“Maybe,” Sam said slowly. “But I haven’t decided that I don’t like it yet.” He polished off the last of his salad and set his fork down. “Now, I believe someone said something about dessert?”

Gabriel’s answering smile was wicked. “Did they? I do seem to recall making my special cinnamon rolls.” 

Sam mock-pouted. “That’s all I get? I thought this was a celebration.” 

“What if I feed them to you, Alpha?” Gabriel asked, reaching for one. 

“Hmmm. I suppose that would work,” Sam replied, pushing himself back from the table so there was plenty of room for Gabriel to take a seat on his lap. “Now get over here,” he said, patting his lap. 

“Bossy, bossy.”

“You like it.”

“Damn straight I do.”

.oOOo.

Sam’s prediction about Toni Bevell came true much too quickly for his comfort. On his fourth day in the office, she asked him to work with her in a small room filled with filing cabinets containing her own hand-written notes about cases that set precedent in the state. 

Not even five minutes passed before he turned around, clutching a folder, and found her standing directly in front of him, eyes smouldering. “Mmmm. You are absolutely _delicious_ ,” she purred. 

Sam had to hold back a sigh. What the hell was wrong with women? “ _Ms._ Bevell,” he said, clearing his throat as her hand landed on the breast of his suit jacket. “Please stop. I have no interest in having anything other than a completely professional relationship with you.” He escalated quickly...but then again, her hand did too. 

She frowned, but pulled her hand away and took a step back. “You’re not interested? Why? Because I’m a woman? Because I’m an Alpha?” She seemed to take Sam’s lack of reponse to her sex appeal as a personal affront. 

“I’m happily mated, Ms. Bevell,” Sam replied calmly. 

“Surely you see other people besides your Omega,” she told him, looking genuinely confused. 

“No. I don’t. I’m committed to my mate.” Sam kept his tone firm. 

Pursing her lips, Toni looked him over. “Have you ever _been_ with an Alpha woman?”

“No,” Sam decided to answer honestly, even though she might continue to press the point. “But I am mated. I have no intention of sleeping with anyone besides my mate for the rest of my life.” 

“Toni!” An over-sugared male voice interrupted them, and Dick Roman walked through the open door. “Sam! There you are. I’m so sorry, Toni, but I have to steal him away from you. Sam, grab your laptop and follow me; I need someone to take dictation for me for the rest of the morning.” 

“Dick.” Toni’s greeting was far from genuine, but she stepped back away from Sam, allowing him to hand her the file he was holding and then to pick up his laptop bag. 

Dick grabbed Sam’s arm and quickly steered him out of the room, preventing Toni from saying any more to Sam and vice-versa. Dick ushered Sam into his office, patted his shoulder, and closed the door behind him. “You’ll have to forgive her, Sam. Everyone here at Dick’s has an open mating, and she’s not used to men saying no to her.” 

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Dick just continued. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her and make sure she doesn’t bother you again. She really should have remembered that incident in your file with Rebecca Rosen before attempting that.” He shook his head. “But, not everyone has a memory like I do. Steel trap, this is.” He tapped his head, and then grinned like a shark. “That said, you _really_ should consider the benefits of an open mating. Alphas like us, the winners, were meant to have multiple Omegas, while the losers ended up with none.” 

Sam must have grimaced, because Roman waved a dismissive hand at him. “I’m just telling the truth; you know enough history to know how it used to be. Now, take a seat; I really do need someone to take notes while I talk, and my administrative assistant is on break.”

Not entirely sure what to say to any of that, Sam quietly booted up his laptop and prepared to take dictation. 

.oOOo.

“Hey, Kelly. I’m taking off early again,” Gabriel told his second-in-command. He’d finished his special orders for the day, and Sprinkles! was in good hands.

“Must be nice to be the boss,” she teased him--but he knew she wasn’t really upset, as him taking off meant that she and Jack got extra time, and they were still recovering from some of her medical bills. Since they had a momentary lull in the back of the shop, she asked, “How are you doing? Things still good with Sam? I never see him around any more.” 

“He’s super busy with law school and working at his firm. But we’re fine; he’s still the most amazing Alpha ever. With all due respect to Jack-o,” Gabriel replied, leaning against the counter. The hardest part of working while pregnant was definitely being on his feet so much. “The real problem is, I think he doesn’t like the firm he has to work at.”

“Oh?” Kelly prompted, wiping down a counter. 

“Yeah. I mean, I teased him mercilessly about wanting to work at a law firm called Dick’s, but he insisted it was the best one out there for Omega rights. Now that he’s there, though, it’s not turning out like he’d hoped, and I feel bad for giving him a hard time about it.”

“Sam’s a big boy. He can take a little teasing, and you couldn’t have known,” Kelly shrugged. “Anyway, it _is_ a stupid name.” 

“Yeah, but--” Gabriel sighed. This wasn’t his style, but he couldn’t snap out of his funk, either. “Sam helped me, so much, while I was getting Sprinkles! off the ground. For fuck’s sake, he was a cashier and took all kinds of shit from the customers without once getting mad. I want to do that kind of thing for him. But I don’t know how,” he admitted, rubbing at his eyes, which had started to leak. “Fucking hormones.” 

“Sometimes all you can do is be there for a person,” Kelly told him. “Give him time and space to talk it through, or vent if he needs to.” 

“That doesn’t feel like enough,” Gabriel complained, though his heart wasn’t really in it. 

“Gabriel, you’re having his pups, and you’ve got a successful business that’s helping him pay his way through law school--well, sort of, anyway. I really don’t think there’s anything more you could _possibly_ do for him except quit Sprinkles! and become a paralegal, and I don’t think you’d like that.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Gabriel agreed, heaving a sigh. “You’re right. I just wish I could help him switch law firms somehow.” 

“Maybe talk to your mom?” Kelly suggested. “She’s a businesswoman, and might know a thing or two about getting out of a contract.” 

“That’s a good idea,” Gabriel nodded. “I’d have to ask Sam first, though; I’m not sure he’d want her to know how he’s feeling, especially since he just started.” 

“You should do that. Feel any better?”

“A little,” he admitted, wiping more tears out of his eyes. 

“Yeah, expect that to last for a few months after you’ve given birth,” Kelly told him, smiling sympathetically. “Pregnancy hormones are the worst.”

“They really are, aren’t they?” Gabriel waved to her. “Call me if you need anything; I’ll be at home.” He walked back to the computer and clocked out before hanging up his apron, gathering his things, and heading home.

On the way, he realized that there _was_ one thing he could do to make Sam’s life easier, so, despite the fact that he hated doing it, when he got home, he sat down and updated the books for Sprinkles! so Sam wouldn’t have to. He resolved to continue doing them as long as Sam was still in law school. 

Once Gabriel finished his accounting, he took a nap and then got up to make dinner--home-made stir fry and sticky rice. It was another of Sam’s favorites, and Gabriel liked it too. As he was cooking, he set the table for the two of them and tidied up the living room a bit, though he didn’t feel up to vacuuming. He smiled at all of his Christmas decorations, which he’d insisted that Sam put up the first year they shared an apartment when he’d found out that Sam really didn’t celebrate the holiday much. 

“Just wait ‘til you’re old enough for Christmas,” he told his belly, rubbing it with one hand. “You’re both going to love it _so_ much. There’s presents, and candy, and Santa, and candy, and cookies, and singing, and candy! Daddy will show you how to make your own candy canes, and decorate cookies...and your Alpha will show you how to make stockings, because Daddy has no idea how to sew… It’s going to be great!” 

Gabriel paused for a moment. “What do you think about Ken and Barbie as names? ...Nah, I wouldn’t want to be a Barbie, you’re right. Ooh! What about Apollo and Artemis? We could call you Appy and Arty...I’m going to have to remember that. You give Daddy a good kick later if I forget.”

Gabriel checked on the rice, and then picked up his phone. There were no texts from Sam, which meant he’d been busy. “<3 u,” Gabriel texted. “dinner soon?”

It was a few minutes before he got a reply. “Running late,” Sam’s text said. “<3 you too. Eat dinner if you’re hungry. I should be home in another hour.” 

Gabriel considered this for a few moments, and then decided to go ahead and make the stir-fry. He’d eat now, and he’d save the rest for Sam. Especially the peppers. Sam could have all the peppers. They gave Gabriel’s pregnant ass acid reflux, and he made a face at them in retaliation as he cut them into strips. 

He had indeed finished dinner by the time Sam got home. He made a point of giving Sam a kiss under the mistletoe again, and then let his mate go wash his hands while he made a plate of stir fry and rice for his Alpha. And a little plate for him, to keep Sam company with. 

When the Alpha finally sat down at the table and took a huge swig from his beer, Gabriel frowned. “Long day?” he asked. 

Sam sighed, and looked over at his mate. “It will be, when I finish my homework for tomorrow. But...Toni Bevell--”

Gabriel didn’t let him finish; he interjected, glaring at the door. “Goddamn her! She needs to leave you the fuck alone!”

Sam stayed calm. “Dick has told her so, apparently. The two of us won’t be working together on anything anymore.” 

Gabriel huffed. “Well, that’s okay. I guess. Is she going to listen to him?”

“I think so,” Sam replied.

Nodding, Gabriel pursed his lips. “How was your day other than that?”

“It was okay,” Sam replied, using his chopsticks as if he had been raised in Asia. “Not great, but aside from Toni it wasn’t too bad. Although Dick keeps giving me...advice. And I don’t agree with it, but I don’t feel like I can speak up.” 

“You should,” Gabriel pointed out as he pushed a pepper to the side of his plate. “What’s he going to do, fire you? That’s what you want.” 

“I’m not sure about that,” Sam replied. “But...good point. Maybe if I do start disagreeing with him, he’ll like me less. The other interns have already started ostracizing me because he asks for me so often.” 

“Eh, screw them,” Gabriel opined “Most of them aren’t going to go on to be lawyers, let alone lawyers in that firm.” 

“Networking is important,” Sam said, but he shrugged a shoulder as he did so. “But you’re right, they’re definitely not people I want to invite to a party. Oh! Speaking of that, Dick’s is having a holiday party for everyone who works there and their mates this Saturday evening. Do you think you’ll feel well enough to come?”

“Yeah, I’ll take the day off from Sprinkles and sleep in so I don’t turn into a pumpkin at nine,” Gabriel replied, smiling. He liked the idea of being on Sam’s arm, and actually being in a place where he might be able to help his mate. Somehow. “Can’t have alcohol, obviously, but someone will surely have eggnog that hasn’t been spiked. And I can bring cookies!”

“Well,” Sam said hastily, “The event’s catered, so I’m not sure how well the caterers will like it if you show up with food.”

“Screw them too,” Gabriel announced cheerily. “If my cookies are better than theirs, they only have themselves to blame.” 

“All right, but don’t be surprised if no one else brings anything,” Sam told him. “Or if we end up with leftover cookies.” 

“Sam, don’t forget. I lived most of my life with rich people. The ones at your firm are not going to out-snob me, just you wait and see,” Gabriel pointed out. “I’ll make sure the cookies look as if I bought them on my way in.” 

“All right,” Sam replied. “Anyway, how was your day?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel and Sam make it to the party. Barely.

Gabriel stared at his mate in shock. 

“Look, Gabriel,” Sam said, pushing his hair back and sighing loudly as he stood up, “I really have to get this done, and we have the party tomorrow. After tomorrow night, I don’t have anything due until next semester. So can you _please_ just leave me alone for one more night?” He gently, but firmly, pushed his slack-jawed mate out of the office, and closed the door behind him. 

Gabriel was not normally at a loss for words. Then again, his husband never turned down sex, either. Never. Okay, well, there was that one time after that bad burger, but Sam had started throwing up almost immediately… Gabriel swallowed hard and tried not to burst into ugly tears--there was no doubt, at this stage in his pregnancy, that they would be ugly. And loud. And then Sam would hear him and come, and then he wouldn’t get his work done. 

So Gabriel went back into the bedroom, closed the door behind him, and shoved his face into Sam’s pillow before bursting into tears. What had he been thinking? He’d known Sam was on a deadline, but Sam had been so busy lately, and he thought that a quickie…

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid little Omega_ , he told himself. _You wanted to prove that Sam was still attracted to you. And you found out. He’s not. Are you happy now?_

.oOOo.

Gabriel woke up around the time he’d normally leave to go to Sprinkles! Sam still wasn’t in bed. The Omega sighed, but got up to use the facilities and wash his face and blow his nose in the hopes of not looking quite so horrible in the morning. 

He put Sam’s pillow back in its place when he climbed into bed and fell back asleep, on his own pillow, this time. 

.oOOo.

Gabriel felt a little better when he woke up a second time. Sam was in bed with him and dead to the world, but when Gabriel made it to the dining room, he found a note on the table: ‘Gabe--I’m sorry for last night. You smelled really upset. Please wake me up before the party so we can talk about it. --Sam’

Gabriel made a face at the note; he was in no mood to talk about what had happened last night. Instead, once he’d eaten breakfast, he began making gingerbread cookies for the party. After all, he reasoned, Sam had been up most of the night, and needed his sleep more than he needed to talk to Gabriel. They could go to the party this evening, pretend to be the perfect couple, and then afterward Gabriel could give Sam an earful. Was it petty? Yes. But he was feeling childish after last night. 

While Sam slept, Gabriel baked and decorated the cookies and then primped, remembering holiday parties at his mother’s company. He knew that part of the point for lawyers like Dick Roman would be showing off their trophy Omegas...and while Gabriel couldn’t quite pull that off, he could at least make an effort--and he wanted to, despite the fact that he was mad at Sam. 

So, Gabriel found his most traditional male Omega outfit--which, thankfully, was both cut for pregnancy and dressy--and put it on after a shower. He curled his hair into those swoops Sam liked so much. He put on makeup. Sam kept sleeping. Gabriel put on a few jeweled items his parents had given him after he presented that he otherwise never wore. In the end, he even took the time to paint his nails. 

When he was finished, he smirked at himself in the mirror. Pregnant or not, let Sam not be attracted to him while looking like _this._ Speaking of which… “Sam!” he called from the bathroom. “Sam, it’s time to get up.” His mate would have just enough time to get ready before the party, and they wouldn’t have to have any hard conversations quite yet. 

He heard Sam groan and mutter something. “Up and at ‘em,” Gabriel said, walking into the bedroom and patting Sam’s legs on his way by. “You’ve got a party to go to.” He went back to the kitchen before Sam was conscious enough to realize the time and began making a single cup of coffee for his mate. 

Gabriel distinctly heard Sam say, “Shit!” and he couldn’t help but grin when he heard the shower turn on moments later. He set his mate’s coffee on the table when it was finished, and waited. 

“What the hell, Gabriel, you were supposed to wake me up--” Sam, toweling himself off, had just appeared and spotted Gabriel. Who felt supremely smug when Sam’s jaw literally dropped. 

“I did, in time for your party. We can talk _after_ the party. I don’t want to ruin my makeup,” the Omega said primly. 

“You--you look _amazing,_ Gabriel,” Sam stammered. 

“I know. Now, hurry up and get in your tux.” Gabriel made a shooing motion with his hand. 

“We don’t _have_ to go to the party,” Sam pointed out. 

“After all the work I’ve done? We’re going. Now stop dripping on the rug and go clean yourself up,” Gabriel insisted. 

Sam gave him a glare, but disappeared back into the bedroom. Gabriel had just a brief flash of guilt before he quelled it. Let Sam look at him and want him all night--that would serve the Alpha right. 

Sam soon returned, still glaring but now in his dress clothing and shaved. “Well?” Sam said, gesturing at the door. “I hope you’re happy, Gabriel. And I’m sorry for whatever it was that you think I did.” 

Gabriel picked up the decorative tin with his cookies in it and minced out the door--okay, he waddled out the door, but in his mind he minced. “The _only_ conversation I’ll allow before the party has to do with baby names. What about Apollo and Artemis?”

He somehow felt Sam roll his eyes behind his back, even though he couldn’t have. “Do you have any idea of half of the shit the Greek gods did? Those two aren’t bad, but only compared to the others.” 

Gabriel huffed out a breath as they got into the elevator. “Well? What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. If we want to name them after something...what about stars?” Sam said. “There has to be some good star names.” 

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, but pulled out his phone and started scrolling. He almost immediately found one he liked, and he looked up at Sam with it on his lips. 

“ _Not_ Betelgeuse,” Sam said, narrowing his eyes. “And not Sirius, either. That woman used to be cool, but...not anymore.”

Gabriel couldn’t help but snort indelicately. “Male Omegas aren’t Omegas my ass,” he agreed, looking through the list of star names on Wikipedia. “Hmm. What about Deneb?”

“For a girl? What’s it mean?” Sam asked. 

“Hen’s tail...hold on...uh, looks like, actually, more like swan’s tail,” Gabriel told him. “It’s Arabic, and it’s in the constellation Cygnus. I guess that makes sense.” 

“What about a boy’s name?” Sam asked as they descended. 

“Lemme look. Eh. Nothing else great in Cygnus. But...Deneb is part of the Summer Triangle. The other two stars in that are Altair and Vega.”

“What do they mean?”

“Altair is...the flyer, the soaring eagle. Ooh, I like that. Vega is, well, this site says it’s Spanish, but this one says Arabic for ‘the vulture’. Yeah, no on that one.” 

“I kind of like Altair, though,” Sam told him as they climbed out of the elevator and headed for the car. 

“Me too,” Gabriel admitted. “Though it’s going to look like we didn’t go very far on the baby names site. And I’m not entirely sold on Deneb. Let’s look at other A star names, see if we can get some alliteration going on.”

Sam helped him into the car, and then set the cookie tin in the back seat. Gabriel buckled his seatbelt, and then went right back to looking at the ‘List of Proper Names of Stars’ on Wikipedia. 

“Oh, hey. We could put ‘al’ in front of Deneb to make them the same. Otherwise...it doesn’t really look like there’s a great A name,” Gabriel said. 

“So...Altair and Aldeneb? Or Deneb? I kind of like the shorter version,” Sam replied thoughtfully. 

“You just want to kill my alliteration,” Gabriel accused Sam, who started the car and pulled out of their spot. 

“Yes, but...two points of the Summer Triangle? One meaning one who soars like an eagle, and one meaning...let’s call it the peacock’s tail?”

“It’s the swan’s tail,” Gabriel corrected him. “And we don’t want our daughter to think we just wanted her to grow up and be pretty.” 

“No, of course not,” Sam agreed. “But it’s still a star. We can even get them interested in astronomy, get a telescope and find their stars.”

“Maybe when they’re a bit older. So...Altair and Deneb? What about middle names, then?”

Sam groaned. 

.oOOo.

The holiday party was held in a fancy suite of rooms that were likely normally reserved for weddings and other celebrations. Gabriel was completely unsurprised; people that liked to flaunt the fact that they had money always reserved places like this instead of holding the holiday party in their completely serviceable office space. The outside of this center or whatever they called it was lavishly decorated. 

Gabriel and Sam handed their (light) coats over to the attendant inside, and then walked further into the venue. There was a huge vaulted room, decorated with several enormous, real trees. There was a variety of different but somehow not mismatched furniture, including comfortable-looking chairs, plus some tables set along the wall that the caterers had set up at. 

“Beautiful,” Gabriel commented, glancing around. He was holding the cookie tin under the arm that wasn’t holding Sam’s, propped against his hip--occasionally, hips were actually useful for something other than bumping into things. 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed before he smirked. “Not as beautiful as you, though.” 

“Mr. Winchester, did you really think a cheesy line like that would work on a classy Omega like me?” Gabriel shot back, grinning. 

“An Alpha can dream,” Sam replied before walking over to a cluster of other people. 

“Hey, Sam,” one young man greeted. He glanced over at Gabriel, raised his eyebrows, nodded once or twice, and remarked, “Nice.” 

Before either of them could respond--and make no mistake, Gabriel’s mouth was set to auto-snark and had already opened, workplace or not--one of the Alpha women bent down toward him. “The Omegas are all over there, dear,” she told him, in a tone that was probably meant to be helpful but was horribly patronizing. “Don’t worry, we won’t let your mate wander off with someone else.” 

Gabriel felt himself flushing, but before he could respond, he glanced over at Sam. Who had puppy dog eyes, at the moment--which was not to say that he wasn’t angry about what had just been said to his mate; Gabriel could tell he was--but he didn’t want to make a scene. More importantly, he clearly didn’t want _Gabriel_ making a scene. That hurt, a little, though less than last night had. Still, Gabriel knew his grin was a little maniacal as he turned back to the other Alpha. “Thanks, sugar,” he said in a sweet tone. Before he could add anything else, he turned on his heel and headed over to where the mates were apparently allowed to gather. 

He looked them over, and wasn’t surprised to see mostly trophy mates, whether Beta or Omega. They were all dressed to the nines, a couple of them were pregnant (although not as far along as he was), and most were younger than he was. He forced himself to smile, and, since his presence had created a pause in the conversation, he added, “Hi. I’m Gabriel, Sam’s mate.” And then, partly because his arm was getting tired, he shifted the tin around and opened it before offering it toward the others. 

“Don’t mind if I do!” said the woman he’d ended up standing next to. When he turned to her with his tin, he realized she was a Beta. “This is so beautiful; I’m going to feel bad for eating it!” Still, she took a bite, and then talked through it, spraying a few crumbs. “Hiya! I’m Donna. Doug’s mate. He’s a new lawyer here. We’re from South Dakota, just moved to town.” 

Gabriel couldn’t help but grin back; the woman just radiated positivity, and while it might be slightly annoying positivity, he knew genuineness was a rare thing in the room. “Sam’s an intern here, but he’ll be finished with law school next semester, and he’ll be a lawyer here afterward. Assuming he passes the bar exam, of course.” He tried to pass the tin around, but no one else wanted any--which was odd; he could have sworn that some of them had looked interested a moment ago. 

“I’m sure he’ll have no trouble,” the blond woman told him. “Wowza, these are amazing! Where did you get them?” She helped herself to another. 

“I made them--I’m a baker,” Gabriel said, trying to include others in the conversation--but it seemed that despite his best efforts, he’d managed to start a conversation with a social pariah. Oh well, at least Donna seemed like an interesting social pariah. 

“That’s so neat! I was going to be a policewoman, but Doug put a stop to it,” Donna told him. “He said he’d take care of me, and that I couldn’t be pregnant and be in law enforcement.” 

“Not that _you’ve_ ever been pregnant,” interjected one of the (much skinnier, but pregnant) Omegas, “although you certainly look like you are.”

“She’s too _fat_ to be pregnant,” snickered another that looked almost identical. Most of them laughed, and Gabriel instantly gave up on them as a group. 

“At least she’s not a gold digging whore with more looks than brains,” he replied, before carefully stepping so his back was to the last woman who had spoken. He couldn’t help but hope that the Omega he’d dissed was Toni Bevell’s mate. 

Donna full-on snorted at his words, spraying cookie all over and earning sounds of disgust from the other mates, who withdrew a little ways from them. Gabriel didn’t care, though; he was quite done playing nice, and he didn’t like being friends with mean girls. “So, what’s South Dakota like?” he asked.

“Cold, mostly,” Donna replied, nodding. “But you have no eggnog! Let me get you some--unspiked, I promise.” She took a few steps over to the caterer’s table, managed to accidentally cut in line, and then poured her own drink (well, Gabriel’s drink), to the chagrin of the caterer. 

“Thanks,” Gabriel said, when she brought it over to him. He sipped, but his main reason for drinking eggnog was the alcohol. It tasted a bit weird on its own. 

“So you really made those cookies?” she asked, waving to the tin, which he’d set down on a table while she was getting eggnog. “They’re delicious. And so cute!” 

He helped himself to one when she took another. “Yup! I own my own bakery, Sprinkles! I made these at home, though, earlier today.” 

“You own your own bakery?” Donna’s eyebrows climbed again. “Wow. You don’t meet many Omega businessmen. Ah, I’m sorry, was that rude? Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain, y’know.” 

“Not really,” Gabriel said, shaking his head and smiling at her. “I went to college for business, because I knew I wanted to start a bakery, and I wanted it to be successful.” 

“Good for you!” Donna said, smacking his shoulder with the back of her hand. “And now you’re helping your mate’s dream come true. Which one is he?” she asked, pointing back toward the interns. 

“The moose,” Gabriel replied, grinning. “He left the antlers at home, though.”

“Oh my gosh!” Donna exclaimed, looking over at Sam. “Are you the luckiest man in the world or _what_?”

Gabriel laughed. “I am. But believe me, he can be a lot of work sometimes.” 

“Neurotic?” Donna guessed. 

“How’d you know? Now, which one’s yours?”

.oOOo.

Gabriel and Donna continued to talk, eventually ending up sitting in a couple of chairs due to Gabriel’s feet. Now that the tin was on the table some distance away, Gabriel’s cookies were disappearing rapidly--more rapidly than the caterers’, he noticed smugly. He couldn’t see Sam anymore, nor were the senior partners of the firm in evidence. The Alpha interns and junior lawyers had formed a clique in the main room, and the Omegas and Betas were mostly still in the room with he and Donna, many some distance away from the pair, although a few Betas had come over and joined them. 

Gabriel was in the middle of telling everyone who would listen the Saga of Becky, and had just gotten to the part where Jack had gone feral. After all, he’d decided, if you were going to experience trauma, you might as well get some good stories out of it. Especially if it wasn’t as traumatic as, you know, kidnapping. 

The small group was hanging on his every word, so when the Alpha Donna had identified a ‘hers’ came walking over, Gabriel assumed it was to hear the story, and continued. “So here I am, the dart gun empty, and Jack’s eyes are _red_. And I mean--”

“Donna Hanscum,” Doug said, interjecting. Surprised, Gabriel looked up at him. The man was holding a manilla envelope, and looking angry. 

Donna, too, looked surprised, but recovered quickly. “Hey Douggie! Gabriel was just telling us about--”

The Alpha cut her off. “You have been served,” he said, shoving the envelope at her and letting go, forcing her to take it. “Our mating has been annulled, due to _your_ inability to get pregnant.” 

Gabriel felt his jaw drop open along with Donna’s. The room was suddenly paying an inordinate amount of attention to the group. “But...but Douggie,” Donna started.

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped. “You can collect your things tomorrow; I’ll be out of the house.” 

He was about to turn and walk away, but there was no way Gabriel was about to let him get away with this. “Oh, _hell_ no,” he growled, pushing himself to his feet. “You did not just do that here, and now. At a fucking _holiday_ party.”

Doug sneered down at Gabriel. “Mind your own business, Omega. Or I’ll put you over my knee right here and now.” 

“The fuck you will, ‘cause that’s assault. Of a pregnant Omega, no less. Not that you’d be charged, because my mate wouldn’t leave enough smears of you on the ground to stand trial, douchebag.” Gabriel didn’t care if he was taking out his early aggression at Sam’s colleagues on Doug; the man _clearly_ deserved it. Also, Gabriel sort of wanted to try some of the things his self-defense instructor had taught him on the man, just to see if they worked. 

He vaguely heard Donna start sobbing, somewhere behind him, and felt bad. Not bad enough to stop standing up to Doug, though. The taller man literally growled at him, and clenched his fists. “Bring him on. I’ll teach him how to teach his Omega proper manners. Clearly no one ever taught either of you.” 

Gabriel opened his mouth to snark back, but a crying Donna pushed her way past him and ran for the restrooms near the entrance to the facility. He knew she needed help more than he needed to start a fight at his husband’s company’s holiday party, so he settled on giving Douchebag Doug a glare that should have felled the man before pushing his way past him aggressively and following Donna. He half-hoped that Doug tried to put a hand on his shoulder and restrain him...but he was also glad when he didn’t, especially since he couldn’t see Sam anywhere. 

On his way to the bathroom, he glared at anyone and everyone who looked more amused than shocked. 

There was only one restroom in the facility; with so many different genders, it wasn’t worth making a separate place for each of them to relieve themselves. Instead, there was one big room with a number of stalls that closed completely, along with a row of sinks with big poinsettias between them. 

There were a couple of surprised-looking people at the sinks, and one or two minding their own business in the stalls. The hysterical sobs were coming from the stall furthest from the door. Gabriel frowned at the people at the sinks in an attempt to get them to leave the room, and then waddled over to Donna’s stall. “Hey Donna, it’s me, Gabriel,” he said. “I’m right out here if you need anything.” 

She continued to sob, but he’d pretty much expected that. They hadn’t really known each other long enough for her to invite him into the stall just to watch her cry and try to put a sympathetic arm around her shoulders (the stalls were big, but not THAT big). 

Gabriel waited a few minutes, for her to calm down at least a little, before he said, “You shouldn’t cry too long, you know. Anyone cold enough to do something like that at a holiday party doesn’t deserve it.”

“But- I- I- love him,” she gasped from the stall in between sobs.

“I know,” Gabriel said gently. “I know, it’s the worst feeling in the world right now. But it _will_ get better. Look, I know you don’t have any place to go tonight,” he said, which started up a fresh round of hysterical crying. He’d known it would, and waited until the sobs had abated somewhat before saying, “Come home with me and Sam. We’ve got a couch you can sleep on, and I’ll whip up the best batch of double-fudge chocolate brownies you’ve ever tasted. Best breakup food ever. _And_ we have ice cream in the freezer.” 

It was a little while before she started calming down enough to speak. “You- You- I could come over? Tonight?”

“Yes, and you’re welcome to stay a few days, if you need to,” Gabriel confirmed, hoping it would be all right with Sam. They’d, uh, have to have that important talk later. “We’ve all been through rough patches, and couch-crashing is what friends are for.”

She hiccuped. “I don’t know how I’m ever gonna thank you,” she managed. “And Sam. Are you...sure he won’t mind?”

“I’m sure,” Gabriel said, with more confidence than he felt. “Once you feel a little bit better, I’ll go get him and we can all leave.”

“That--that sounds good,” she said, though she began crying again. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Gabriel told her, mentally fuming at Douchebag Doug. He’d left her at a party where she didn’t know anyone else and didn’t have transportation anywhere. If Sam ever did that to him, he’d castrate him. 

Gabriel leaned on the wall while she went through a fresh round of tears, wishing that there was a comfy chair in the bathroom he could use. Sure, he could go into the stall next to her and sit, but...it wasn’t exactly comfortable, and he wanted to make sure he could stop her--just in case he needed to--if she suddenly decided to leave the restroom. He didn’t know her well enough to know whether she’d go back into the party and try to give Doug a piece of her mind, or go out and grab a taxi to a bar or something. Either way, the outcome wouldn’t be good. 

He watched people slowly disappear from the bathroom (and one or two come in) when suddenly, the door banged open, loudly despite the doorstop. In fact, it rebounded hard enough that the person coming in, who was awfully tall, had to smack it again with his palm to keep it from breaking his nose. 

Gabriel’s eyes widened as he realized that the figure was a rather distraught-looking Sam. Sam’s eyes widened too, when he spotted Gabriel, but he was already practically ripping the handle off of the first stall. He darted inside, there was a thump, and then Gabriel heard the distinct sound of Sam puking into the toilet. 

“Sam?” he cried, momentarily forgetting about Donna. “SAM!?!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the night from Sam's POV.

Sam was on his very last assignment for the semester, which was worth 50% of his grade in one of his classes. He had hit The Zone, where he had exactly the right amount of caffeinated focus and ideas, and his revision of the thirty-page document was proceeding apace. It would still take hours, but it would be in by tomorrow morning’s deadline, and it would be good. 

He heard the door open behind him, and assumed that Gabriel was bringing him a snack or maybe some more coffee. Sam had told his mate multiple times over the last few days that he was free after tonight (at least, until next semester started). He wasn’t too surprised by the hands on his tense shoulders or the kiss on the back of his neck (although it meant that Gabriel hadn’t brought more coffee, which was too bad). He reached up to pat one of the hands on his shoulder, but didn’t say anything. 

At least, not until Gabriel kissed his way around from the back of his neck to his lips. Sam wouldn’t have minded just one kiss, but it was pretty clear from the heated nature of the kiss and from how Gabriel’s hands were stroking down his chest that Gabriel wanted to take it further than that. Sam was, quite frankly, slightly pissed off, especially as he was in the Zone. Gabriel only had to wait one more night and he’d have his Alpha all to himself for three whole weeks!

Sam let out an explosive sigh, and stood up. “Look, Gabriel,” he said, facing his mate and putting his hands on his shoulders, “I really have to get this done, and we have the party tomorrow. After tomorrow night, I don’t have anything due until next semester. So can you _please_ just leave me alone for one more night?” He gently, but firmly, pushed his slack-jawed mate out of the office, and closed the door behind him.

Looking back, maybe he should have paid more attention to the look on Gabriel’s face, but perfect sentences were running through his head, and he HAD to get them written down before they escaped. 

An hour or so later, Sam had to leave the room to get more coffee. He was surprised to see the door to the bedroom closed, and to smell upset Omega in the hallway. Hadn’t he _told_ Gabriel how important this assignment was? And he was only asking him to wait for 24 hours; Sam would be happy to pick up where they left off after the holiday party. He shoved his hair back from his face, and sighed once again. Oh well. They could talk about it in the morning. 

He made himself coffee and retrieved an apple from the fridge before making his way back to the office to finish the assignment. 

.oOOo.

Eventually, Sam proof-read his paper one last time and submitted it to his professor. He leaned back in his chair, exhausted, but also happy and a bit proud of himself. The final year of law school was proving to be the most difficult, but he thought he’d done well this semester. 

He checked his e-mail and Facebook, liked a few recent pictures of Mary and Cassie, Dean and Castiel’s pups, and then shut down the computer. He stood, stretching, feeling at least some of the tension leave his body. He couldn’t wait to get back to his running, but he figured he’d have to start, well, tomorrow, given that it was nearly dawn and he was planning to sleep most of the day. The party was that evening, so he had plenty of time. 

Sam took his dishes back to the sink and cleaned them up, leaving them in the drying rack before heading for the bedroom. 

He opened the door and was hit immediately by the reek of burned cinnamon rolls. Apparently Gabriel had been _very_ upset, much more upset than the scent in the hallway had indicated. Sam strode to the bed, but the little light there was in the room showed Gabriel’s chest rising and falling, so there wasn’t anything physically wrong with him or the pups. Sam breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt awful. He’d clearly distressed his mate, and for no good reason. Sam wasn’t quite sure _why_ Gabriel was so upset with him, but it was clear that he was. 

Sam considered waking Gabriel up so that they could talk about it, but decided not to. Instead, he grabbed a pad of paper and wrote a note asking Gabriel to wake him up when the Omega woke up. He left it on the dining room table. 

Sam then went back to the master bedroom and into the bathroom so he could at least wash his face. He’d obviously have to take a shower tomorrow (well, later today) before the party, because...well, he hadn’t, recently. 

Trusting that Gabriel would wake him up in plenty of time to discuss things before the party started, Sam set his phone down next to the bed and didn’t set an alarm. He then stripped down to his boxers and got into bed with his mate, not daring to snuggle him. Despite the acrid smell, he fell asleep quickly. 

.oOOo.

Sam vaguely heard Gabriel call something from somewhere in the apartment, and he stirred, feeling as if he hadn’t slept at all. He had almost fallen back asleep when Gabriel smacked his legs in passing and said something else, probably along the lines of, “Wake up, Sleepyhead.” 

Sam groaned, and finally levered himself upright. He swiped at his hair when it fell in his face, and reached for his phone, thumbing it on. 

He blinked at the display in shock; he had less than half an hour to get ready for the party. Why hadn’t Gabriel woken him up earlier? “Shit!” he exclaimed, before darting into the bathroom. 

Sam went through his ‘morning’ routine at record speed, annoyed by the fact that Gabriel hadn’t woken him up earlier. Then again, he thought, maybe Gabriel had decided not to go to the party at all. Sam wouldn’t mind skipping it himself, if only so Gabriel could explain why he’d been so upset last night. 

Before he bothered dressing, he wrapped himself in a towel and went in search of his mate. Sam started speaking as soon as he could hear him. “What the hell, Gabriel, you were supposed to wake me up--” Then he got a good look at his mate, and his jaw dropped open. Gabriel had clearly taken _hours_ to prepare for the party, and was dressed conservatively, to boot. He’d seen Gabriel dressed up before, but never to the degree that he was right now. 

“I did, in time for your party. We can talk after the party. I don’t want to ruin my makeup,” Gabriel told him, looking like the cat who had got the cream. 

“You--you look amazing, Gabriel,” Sam stammered.

“I know. Now, hurry up and get in your tux.” Gabriel shooed him.

“We don’t have to go to the party,” Sam pointed out. He didn’t state that they could also be late, but as he eyed his mate, he was definitely thinking it--talk or no talk. 

“After all the work I’ve done? We’re going. Now stop dripping on the rug and go clean yourself up,” Gabriel insisted.

Sam reluctantly turned and went to get dressed. He didn’t know what Gabriel was playing at, but he suspected he’d be annoyed when he found out--which would mean an argument, and then make-up sex. Which is probably what Gabriel was angling for. He rolled his eyes as he shaved, then put the tux on. A quick replay of last night in his head made him decide to just play along with Gabriel; it was almost always the safest bet when his mate was acting strange, anyway. 

Sam slid on his dress shoes, then made his way back to the living room. “Well?” he asked, gesturing to the door. He had to make at least one attempt, so he added, “I hope you’re happy, Gabriel. And I’m sorry for whatever it was that you think I did.” 

Sam rolled his eyes hard at Gabriel’s reply, and then they were on their way and focused on baby names. 

.oOOo.

Sam had to admit, by the time they’d arrived at the venue, he had nearly forgotten that Gabriel had forced him into leaving without having a talk. And it seemed that they had their babies’ first names chosen, which is more than they’d had when they started. 

He was pretty sure that he was more impressed by the venue than his mate; he constantly had to remind himself that Gabriel’s parents were filthy rich. Gabriel was just so down-to-Earth that Sam often forgot. 

Still, once they got inside, Gabriel said it was beautiful, and Sam couldn’t help but flirt in return, as handsome as his mate was right now. “Yeah,” he said. “Not as beautiful as you, though.” 

“Mr. Winchester, did you really think a cheesy line like that would work on a classy Omega like me?” Gabriel shot back, grinning.

“An Alpha can dream,” Sam replied. He patted Gabriel’s hand on his arm and headed for the group of interns that actually still spoke to him. 

“Hey, Sam,” said Jesse Cuevas. He eyed Gabriel for a moment, in what Sam thought was a _completely_ inappropriate manner, especially since Jesse had a mate. “Nice,” he remarked. 

Sam frowned, and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Abbadon (no first name, as far as any of the interns knew) leaned down toward Gabriel. “The Omegas are all over there, dear,” she told him. “Don’t worry, we won’t let your mate wander off with someone else.”

Sam groaned inwardly; he knew Gabriel was about to make a scene and they were barely in the door. He just desperately hoped the Omega remembered how horrible these people could make his life for the next five years if they wanted to. Gabriel made eye contact with Sam, and the Alpha braced himself for the worst. He let out a mental sigh of relief when Gabriel _only_ said, “Thanks, sugar,” in an equally patronizing tone before marching off. 

Sam took a deep breath, then let it out. “I’d appreciate it if neither of you spoke to my Omega like that again,” he said, turning back to the other two. 

“Whatever.” Abbadon shrugged and left the group. Max was holding court across the room, and she wandered in that direction. 

“Sorry, man,” Jesse did, at least, sound contrite. “But he looks good enough to eat, even pregnant like that. Max is going to flip his lid; he didn’t manage to bring an Omega to the party.” 

Sam acknowledged Jesse’s apology with a nod, and relaxed slightly. He glanced after Gabriel, but his mate seemed to be doing just fine. Sam knew he was going to have to pay for what had just happened eventually, but at least no one was going to start yelling at anyone else. “How are you and Cesar doing?”

“We’re great. He decided to stay home; he doesn’t like big gatherings.” Sam couldn’t figure out why his instincts were telling him that Jesse was lying, but he’d worry about it later. 

“Well, tell him that we missed him,” Sam said. “I’d introduce you to Gabriel, but I guess Abbadon took care of that.” 

“When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” Jesse agreed. “You two decide on names yet?”

“Maybe.” Sam shrugged. “I don’t want to jinx it.”

“That’s fair,” Jesse replied. “Anyway, you don’t have anything to drink yet. We can talk more after you’ve got some wine. The Merlot is delicious.” He lifted his own drink as if to show it off.

“Good idea,” Sam told him, and moved off toward the caterers’ tables. He looked toward his mate first, but Gabriel seemed deep in conversation with a smiling blonde woman, so he got himself a glass of wine. He sipped at it and was unsurprised when he agreed with Jesse--not that he knew that much about wine. Sam continued to sip at it as he wandered around the main room, briefly greeting those colleagues that he got along with. 

The senior partners were off in a corner by themselves; Sam didn’t go speak with them. If nothing else, he didn’t want Gabriel to be mad if he ended up smelling like Toni--and she would totally take the opportunity to hug him. Eyes widening as he realized something, he looked around the rooms for mistletoe, but there wasn’t any--HR had probably disallowed it after previous holiday parties. 

With another sigh of relief, Sam started to make his way back over to Jesse, though he made a mental note that he should probably check on Gabriel soon. None of the lawyers or interns seemed to want to go into the room where Abbadon had sent Gabriel, which Sam found a little creepy. Moreover, the staff and their mates were clustered in between the (mostly) Alphas and the room where Gabriel had gone. There was no question the party followed certain antiquated social rules. 

“Hey, Sam, over here.” Jesse motioned him over to the spot where Max and company had gathered. “Dick’s going to talk in a minute.” 

“Oh, uh, should I go get Gabriel?” Sam asked, glancing over his shoulder. 

“Nah, man. This is a thing Dick does just for the lawyers and interns,” Jesse explained. “Uh. Don’t be too surprised by it, okay? It’s a bit weird, the first time. After that, you expect it.”

Sam was concerned by the time that Jesse had finished ‘explaining,’ but he didn’t manage to ask any questions before Dick strode over to the group. “Hello, Winners!” he exclaimed.

“Hello, Dick!” they all chorused back. 

“As most of you know, the firm has a little tradition at its holiday party,” Dick told them, grinning widely. “The senior partners get a little VIP event in the back, to let off some steam, while the rest of you enjoy the party out here. Except that every year, we invite a Winner to go back and party with us.” Dick reached into the crowd and pulled out Max as if by magic. Sam had never seen the older intern look quite so ill. “Max was the Winner last year, and many of you thought that he would win this year, too.” 

He was still smiling, but Sam was frowning. Max clearly knew something bad was about to happen, and, now that he looked around, no one else in the little group looked particularly happy, either. Meanwhile, Dick continued. “Unfortunately, Max didn’t pass the bar exam on his first try, so he is a Loser, not a Winner.” Dick pushed him to one side, against a wall, while Sam looked on in horror. 

“Now Abbadon, here,” Dick said, pulling her out of the small group next, “Well, Toni voted for her, but then she would, because both of them are stone-cold bitches. Unfortunately, Abbadon can’t take dictation worth a damn, which lost us the Marston case, so she’s out of the running.” He pushed her off to the side with Max, and Sam realized that he was making them line up, through sheer force of personality and tradition. Rather than looking sick or angry, as Max did, Abbadon calmly flipped Dick off. It just made him laugh. 

Dick continued, highlighting everyone’s worst mistake that year as they stood in front of the rest of the team, most blushing and looking humiliated. Sam was glad he hadn’t been here long, as there were fewer mistakes for him to have made...but he also desperately didn’t want to be chosen; he had a bad feeling about this ‘VIP event.’   
More and more ‘Losers’ were lined up, including Jesse (‘None of us can pronounce his last name anyway,’ Dick told them after highlighting what Sam felt was a minor mistake Jesse had made). Finally, it was down to three of them: Sam, and two newer lawyers at the firm named Doug and Brady. Sam was desperately hoping the Winner was one of them. 

Unfortunately, Brady had apparently gotten drunk and made a fool of himself at a public nightclub a few months ago, which attracted negative media attention to the firm. At that point, Sam began desperately hoping that Doug was better at his job than Sam thought he was from having gone over a few of the contracts the lawyer had drafted for Crowley. 

Sam didn’t know what to feel when Dick grabbed Doug by the elbow and hauled him up to stand next to him. Maybe Sam hadn’t even been in the running this year; it wasn’t as if he had worked there long enough to attract much attention beyond Toni’s. 

“This is Doug,” Dick told them all. “He wins a prize…” Doug beamed, and Sam relaxed. “For being the biggest Loser in the company this year. He drafted a few contracts that made Crowley cry, and he’d better up his game, because there will be a pink slip in his future if he doesn’t.” 

Doug deflated, and was pushed into line, leaving Dick staring at Sam. Who was seriously thinking about running and screaming for help at this point. “Luckily, Doug’s newbie mistakes were caught by our intern, Sam! As Sam has just pulled off another 4.0 semester at law school--I spoke with his professors earlier today-- _and_ revitalized Crowley’s faith in humanity, he is our Winner for this year!”

He pulled Sam close, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and together they faced the line of ‘Losers.’ Max was staring at Sam with venom in his eyes; Jesse actually looked a little concerned for him. Abbadon was already on her phone. Doug looked as if he didn’t know what to do. 

“All right, everyone,” Dick said. “Say ‘Hello, Winner!’” The group chorused the phrase back at him. “And work harder this year, or it’ll be pink slips for everyone!” he told them, mock-sternly, wagging a finger. Sam really didn’t think the group seemed more motivated; just the opposite, in fact. 

“And now for your prize, Sam,” Dick said, turning him toward the corner where the other senior partners had been. They had apparently left while Dick had been talking. “I hope you’re ready to party hard!”

“Ah--my mate--,” Sam mumbled, looking back over toward the room where he’d last seen Gabriel. 

“Shhh! I won’t tell if you don’t,” Dick told him, pulling him along toward the door. “What our mates don’t know won’t hurt them. That said, you really need to work on your humility, Sam. It’s less endearing than you think. You’re head and shoulders above all those other idiots; I was half-tempted to fire Doug the instant he walked in with that beta cow on his arm.”

Thankfully, Dick liked hearing himself talk, so he didn’t seem to notice that Sam wasn’t really responding. Even more thankfully, Dick didn’t talk about what he had thought when Gabriel came in with Sam. Instead, he opened a door in the corner that was partially hidden by a Christmas tree, and pushed Sam into the VIP event ahead of him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the party, from Sam's perspective. 
> 
> A big thank you to Miranda99956 for beta'ing this chapter while WarlockWriter was away so that you didn't have to wait /too/ long with my little cliffhangers!

Sam was racking his brain, hoping against hope that somehow, he’d come up with a way to get out of this situation, even before he took in the room. There were four low, curved couches, with tables in between and one in the center, arranged in a sort of semicircle. Two were occupied by Toni and Crowley, who raised his glass to them when they walked in. “Sam! M’boy! Ditch that sour grape nonsense and come have the drink of a _real_ Alpha.” He set his drink down and picked up a bottle--there were lots of them in arm’s reach of the couches--and poured what looked like scotch or bourbon into a glass. He was also smoking a cigar, despite the no-smoking notices Sam had seen coming in. 

Behind him, on the edge of the semicircle, Sam realized there were illegal substances present when Toni snorted a line of what had to be coke. He actually saw her pupils contract when the drug hit her system. Now that he had realized what was happening, he saw the pills, lines of coke, and drug paraphernalia interspersed with the bottles.

“Sit down, Sam.” Dick guided him to an empty couch, and Sam sat down, defaulting to politeness while still trying to assess the situation. Crowley offered him the glass he’d poured, and Sam took it, sniffing briefly. Scotch, then. And good scotch, if he was any judge (he wasn’t, really). He set his wine down on the table next to him, and sipped at the scotch. 

Dick took a seat on the unoccupied couch before reaching out to pull some coke over to him. “Cigar?” Crowley asked Sam, offering one. “They’re Cuban.” 

“Ah--no, thank you. My father used to smoke, and I learned to hate the smell,” Sam explained, wondering why he even felt the need to justify his choice. 

“Well, _I’ll_ take it,” Dick said, leaning over Sam to take the cigar from Crowley. He set it down in an ashtray and snorted his own line of coke before addressing Sam again. “Now, Sam, you have a real drink. But what’s your poison? Adderall, Oxy, coke? Though, I suspect you’re a little sick of adderall by now. How on earth did you get an A in Thomas’ class, even with it?”

“Um. I, uh, I don’t take anything.” Sam said, biting down on the fact that his father was also an alcoholic and he was afraid that addiction might run in the family. The senior partners didn’t care.

“No way! You passed Thomas’ class without Adderall? I think someone’s doing a little fibbing,” Dick mock-admonished him. “Don’t worry, Sam. No matter what happens, this law firm has your back, and we have connections you can’t even imagine. Hell, a few years ago, _someone_ left this exact party and had a little accident; it didn’t even end up in the papers.” He eyed Crowley as he said it. 

“Fuck you, Dick,” Crowley responded. “And leave the kid alone. He didn’t grow up with a silver spoon like you and Toni.” He turned to Sam. “What you need, lad, is a downer to relax you; you look way too tense. Try the benzos,” he said, pushing a small dish of pills toward Sam. “And this.” He picked up a blunt, lit it from his cigar, and passed it to Sam.

Marijuana wasn’t illegal in California, and Sam had had it once or twice. He had the feeling that this particular blunt would be stronger than what he’d had, but he decided to smoke it anyway. Maybe if he did, they’d stop pushing illegal substances on him. So, he did what Clinton didn’t do and inhaled.

“Don’t put Sam to sleep before the fun starts,” Toni complained, licking her lips and staring over at them. 

“I won’t, love, but he needs to relax before he can enjoy anything,” Crowley responded. “And the benzos,” he said, eyeing Sam critically before picking up a couple of pills from the dish and handing them to Sam. 

Sam didn’t want them, but it was pretty clear from the looks he was getting from the senior partners that they’d keep pressuring him until he did more than smoke and drink. Thank god Dean had taught him, once upon a time, how to palm items. He blew out a long string of smoke from the joint, then cupped his hand, palmed the pills, and pretended to toss them in his mouth before taking a long swallow of scotch. He /almost/ coughed, but just barely managed not to. 

“Good boy!” Dick said, and when they all turned away from Sam to see to their own ‘poisons,’ Sam pocketed the pills. He told himself that he’d throw them away later; it wasn’t as if he could take them to the police and tell them who gave them to him, because Dick’s would just deny it--and it would be the words of three senior partners against one intern’s. 

As he suspected, the joint was composed of what the kids call a ‘killer bud,’ and he allowed it and the scotch to relax him. Toni lit up too, and Dick lit his cigar, so that they were all smoking something. Sam had decided that he’d stay maybe a half hour or so, and then claim he had to go. Sam really didn’t want to stay, especially with Toni getting higher and higher, even if she was on the opposite side of the semicircle. 

For a little while, they did shots and talked cases, occasionally asking Sam’s opinion on them, which they seemed to appreciate. Crowley had offered him a few more drugs, but Sam declined them. He felt he had to accept the shots, and as a result was both more drunk and high than he’d planned to be when Dick checked his phone, clapped his hands together, and announced, “The entertainment’s here!” 

Dick stood up, and walked over to the emergency exit. He pushed it open, exclaiming, “Magda!” He hugged someone that was mostly out of sight, then stepped back, so that a Beta woman in very expensive clothing could walk in. She was followed by six young (Sam wasn’t sure they were all over 18) men and women, all dressed to the nines. They were all stunning, and as soon as his nose confirmed the fact that they were all Omegas, he knew he was looking at high-end ‘escorts.’ 

His initial impression was confirmed when they started shedding jackets, hanging them up on a rack by the door; the Omegas weren’t wearing a whole lot underneath. “Magda, please, be a dear and introduce us to your friends,” Dick said. 

The madam tottered over to the semicircle in her heels, while Sam tried to figure out how best to leave. He wouldn’t have wanted to stay even if the three senior partners had been sober; he had no doubt the escorts were there for more than just company. 

Sam realized which one was meant for him before the introductions even started. One of the men had light brown hair and hazel eyes, and was probably dressed the most conservatively of all of them in a fishnet shirt and long black pants. When he saw Sam looking at him through his lashes (all the Omegas were looking down at the floor), he smiled, almost shyly. 

Sam was so focused on the Omega that looked like Gabriel that he nearly missed Magda’s introductions. They were perfunctory in any case; thankfully she didn’t list off any of the escorts’ ‘skills,’ just their names--which were probably fake, anyway. 

“You. Here.” Toni snapped her fingers, pointed at the other male Omega, a tallish man with dark hair--Sam thought he’d been introduced as Griffin, but wasn’t sure. He moved immediately to her, and knelt down between her legs. She offered him a drink out of her own glass, and he accepted. 

Crowley rolled his eyes, but made a beckoning motion toward a couple of women he was making eye contact with. While they were doing that, Dick had apparently motioned the Gabriel look-alike toward Sam, because he was walking over to him. “Hello, Alpha,” he said as he sat down next to Sam. “What would you like me to call you?”

“Uh. My name’s Sam.” He needed to get out now, but between the lack of sleep, the alcohol, and the marijuana, his brain wasn’t responding well to his panic. 

“I’m Miller.” Sam had already heard the name, but the reminder was nice. At least the Omega was looking him in the eyes; he wasn’t sure how he would have reacted had Trent come across as submissive as the others. He smelled of peppermint and chocolate. Dick and Magda had clearly done their homework, Sam thought sourly. “May I have a drink, Alpha? And maybe some X?”

“Uh...sure; it’s not mine. Um, look, Miller. You’re very handsome, but--” Sam lowered his voice, in the hopes that the others wouldn’t hear. 

“But you have a mate and love him or her very much,” Miller smiled at him. “It’s no problem. We can just talk if you want.” He snuggled a bit closer to Sam on the pretense of reaching over him to grab a pill, a glass, and a bottle. “You’re a lawyer?” he prompted. 

“Uh, no. I’m just an intern. But I’m going to take the bar exam this summer.” Sam knew he’d smell of Miller now, and knew exactly how Gabriel would feel about that. Dick and the others must have scent neutralizers for afterward. He glanced around, saw that Dick was making out with two of the Omegas, Crowley was chatting up his two and offering them various substances, and Toni was--oh, oh, _shit_ , he didn’t want to see that. It was now burned into his brain, however, in what felt like technicolor. What Toni was doing to the escort made Sam want to vomit, especially as the Omega looked a little like him. 

...Wait a minute. Vomiting. Sam tried to force his lackluster brain into gear. If he’d really taken the benzos and had all that alcohol… 

Miller was taking advantage of his silence to slide his hand up Sam’s sleeve, toward the scent gland on his wrist. When he found it, he froze. “Holy shit, man. You actually _do_...”

But Sam was already enacting his spur-of-the-moment plan. He put a hand on his stomach and groaned, leaning over and interrupting whatever Trent was going to say. “Are you all right?” Miller asked instead, slipping his hand out of Sam’s sleeve. 

Sam shook his head. “No,” he said, as if reluctant to admit it. “No, my stomach...think those pills…’scuse me.” He climbed to his feet, trying not to pay attention to anything else going on in the room as he hurried to the door he’d come in. 

As he opened it and ducked back into the main party, Sam debated whether or not he should actually make himself throw up. He was pretty sure he could do it if he had to, but he could also just lean over the toilet for a while and groan. 

He hurried through the room, hand on his stomach and looking as sick as he could manage. His long legs helped him; he covered ground faster than anyone could get in his way to ask what was wrong. Sam hoped Gabriel wouldn’t see him ‘in distress’ like this, but knew he might and hated the idea. 

Thankfully, Sam didn’t see Gabriel, but he did spot a security camera, and made up his mind. He hit the restroom at a dead run, just barely avoiding getting his nose broken by the door, and then whipped open the door to the stall. Only as he did so did he realize that Gabriel was down at the end of the restroom for some reason, staring at him in shock. 

Oh well; there was nothing for it. Gabriel would be worried, but hopefully he wouldn’t be too mad at Sam once he explained everything. The Alpha dashed into the first stall, fell to his knees (ow), and stuck his fingers down his throat. 

The alcohol did not taste better coming up than going down, but at least the noise covered the sound of Sam tossing the drugs in his pocket into the toilet. He retched a few additional times, because his stomach apparently agreed with the idea of getting everything out of it, and only then realized that Gabriel was trying to push his way into the stall with him. 

Sam spat into the toilet, assessing whether or not he was really done vomiting, and then leaned back a little before flushing. He might not have _had_ to throw up, but now that he had, he felt his muscles aching, and a headache coming on. 

“Sam? Are you all right?” Gabriel was pushing on the door to the stall, which Sam had left unlocked, but couldn’t get it open because Sam’s feet were in the way. 

“Jussa sec.” Sam was trying to figure out what he was going to say to Gabriel when the Omega smelled him, but then figured he’d be too worried to notice Miller’s scent right away. So, he turned over and retracted his feet, so that he was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet and Gabriel was able to push the door open far enough to see his face. “Sick,” he said, as soon as Gabriel appeared. “Water?”

“Yeah...yeah, of course, I’ll get some,” Gabriel agreed. He left, and Sam arranged himself back over the toilet and groaned some more, just in case there was a security camera in here and Dick reviewed the footage (maybe he was being a bit paranoid, but he’d no longer put much past the other Alpha). Thankfully, he didn’t actually throw up again. 

Gabriel soon returned with a bottle of water, which he handed in to Sam. Sam rinsed his mouth out, spat in the toilet a few times, and then actually drank some of the water. It felt too good; he was going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow morning. 

“Get our coats?” he asked Gabriel. “You’ll have to drive,” he added. 

“Yeah, okay,” Gabriel agreed. “I think he just drank too much,” he told someone outside the stall, “Let’s get your coat too, and then I’ll drive us all home.” 

Sam had no idea whom Gabriel was talking to, but chose to worry about it later. When Gabriel came back along with a blonde woman who looked as if she had been crying, Sam had left the stall, but was leaning against one of the walls as if he still wasn’t feeling well. He pulled Gabriel to him, as if he was both drunkenly greeting him and trying to put on the coat at the same time, and got close enough to Gabriel’s ear to whisper, “It’s all right, I’m fine, but I need you to trust me until we get out to the car.” 

Gabriel gave him an odd look, but nodded and then helped Sam with his coat. “This is Donna,” he said. “Donna, this is Sam. You’ve both had a bad day.” 

“Hiya,” Donna greeted, albeit with considerably less than her usual enthusiasm. “Um, are you sure it’s okay if I go home with you?” she asked Gabriel. 

“It’s fine. We’ll get him in bed with some water and aspirin, and then we can have our brownies and ice cream,” Gabriel told her, seemingly nonchalant. “As long as we don’t wake him up first thing in the morning, we'll live.” He turned back to Sam, looking much more worried than his tone indicated. “Her douchebag ex-husband chose to annul their marriage at this event. I told her she could come home with us.” 

“‘Sh fine,” Sam slurred, leaning on Gabriel as they left the restroom and headed for the entrance to the venue. He saw the instant where Gabriel finally registered the smell of another Omega on him, and he gave Sam a sharp look, complete with narrowed eyes--and then a slight nod, as if to acknowledge that they were both in this together, whatever this was, at least until they had a chance to talk about it. 

Sam needed to know more about Donna, however; he wasn’t sure he could speak freely in front of her. So, even though she was clearly upset and working her way through a massive wad of tissues she’d taken from the bathroom, he asked, slurring his words slightly, “Who’sh your husband?

“Doug Kontos,” she said with a sniffle. 

Sam relaxed a little; if the lawyer had dumped her, she wasn’t very likely to tell the company about Sam’s exploits. “‘M sorry,” he told her. Gabriel deposited him near the passenger door, and he ‘managed’ to get into the car on his own. 

“You’ll want to get in on my side,” Gabriel told Donna as Sam pushed his seat all the way back. “Once I pull the seat up.”

“Gabriel, are you sure I should come home with you?” Donna asked, as he climbed in and adjusted the driver’s seat, followed by all of the mirrors. 

“Yes, please, get in,” Gabriel told her, as Sam watched them from the passenger seat. It was kind of nice to lean his head against the cool window. 

She did, and once they all had their seatbelts on, Gabriel pulled the car out of the parking spot and into traffic. “Okay, what the _fuck,_ Sam?” he demanded. 

Sam glanced back at Donna, but knew he was on very thin ice and couldn’t avoid telling the truth, whether she heard or not. “The senior partners invited me into the back,” he explained. “There was all kinds of booze, and drugs. I palmed the pills they insisted I take, but smoked a joint and did the shots they pushed on me. Once they thought I was well and truly hammered, they brought a bunch of escorts in.”

Gabriel growled, and his expression became thunderous. “That’s who you smell of?” he demanded. 

“Yeah. One of them sat down right next to me and then kind of moved over until we were touching,” Sam confirmed. “I tried telling him I wasn’t interested, but I think he may have been paid specifically to seduce me, because he kept trying. He looked like you...only not as handsome,” he added hastily, after scanning his mate’s face. “So I decided, to get myself out of there, to pretend I’d had a bad reaction to the pills they gave me. I wasn’t actually sick, though. But on my way to the restroom I saw a camera and wouldn’t put it past Dick to look at the surveillance footage. So I made myself throw up. I’m sorry you were right there and had to see it, Gabriel.” Sam scrubbed a hand over his face.

“That’s awful,” Donna said from the back. 

When Gabriel didn’t immediately respond, Sam decided to give him some time to process everything. “Not as awful as what happened to you. Those are really the papers?” he asked, nodding to the manilla envelope in her hand. 

“Yeah. He handed them to me in front of the entire room. I--I don’t know what I would’ve done if Gabriel hadn’t been there.” Donna admitted. 

“If you don’t mind, I can take a look at them in the morning, once I’m feeling better,” Sam said. “I’m not a lawyer yet and couldn’t represent you even if I was, conflict of interest, but I could see if there are any flaws in it and point them out to your lawyer.” 

“You would do that?” Donna asked him. “I don’t really have any money--”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t need any. My mate is the breadwinner in our little family, at least for now. I’m just a trophy Alpha.” 

He made both Gabriel and Donna snort with laughter, which is what he’d been hoping for. Donna, a bit teary, looked at him and said, “You are too good for that law firm, Sam Winchester.” 

“YES!” The other two jumped a little when Gabriel suddenly shouted after being so quiet. “YES.” He pointed at Sam. “We are going to get him out of that stupid contract and out of that firm. They don’t deserve five minutes of his time, let alone five years. I’m not going to let them make him miserable--or worse, make him into them.” He glanced over at his husband. “Good thing you’re a moose; they probably didn’t manage to get you nearly as drunk as they meant to.” There was a short pause. “And good thing you’re you. You never even considered even _kissing_ the escort, did you?”

“No,” Sam answered honestly. “I was just thinking of ways to get out without offending everyone. I love _you_ , Gabriel. And I would never, ever do something like that to you.” 

Gabriel nodded. “Damn right, because I’d cut your fucking knot off if you did.” This time, it was Sam and Donna who snorted. “Okay. Home and brownies first. Then sleep. Then...then we start planning.”


End file.
